Thank you for voting for our 2020 Social Star nominees SAINt JHN, Mulatto and Bobby Fishscale. The 2020 Social Star winner will be announced on Monday, September 14th during our 2020 R&B/Hip-Hop Awards virtual experience.
Bobby Fishscale is a Florida native who first grabbed attention with his take on Jay-Z and Eminem's track, "Renegade." Fishscale's version (retitled "Hov Flow") preceded his first mixtape, which sparked a bidding war between labels and ultimately led to his deal with Roc Nation. His fiery, hard-hitting tracks like "Blue Cheese," "No 9 to 5" and "Wrist Froze" all dropped this year, and his newest mixtape, The Last Re-Up, was released on August 7. Notably, it features guest appearances from his peers like Bigga Rankin, Quincee, Peewee Longway and Jimbo, among others. Aside from his music, which has led to nearly 100K monthly listeners on Spotify, Fishscale just released his debut mini-documentary, A Day in the Bricks, which gives fans a first-hand look into his early life and how growing up in the projects influenced his musical journey.
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Last year’s Social Star winner, NLE Choppa, first grabbed
attention with his first single, “No Chorus pt. 3,” introducing
the world to his star potential and distinct Memphis flow. Choppa’s
follow-up single, “Shotta Flow,” which he has made into a “Shotta
Flow” series (the most recent being “Shotta Flow 5”), made him an
overnight star and caught the eyes and ears of industry heavyweights
like Birdman, Yo Gotti, and Lil Durk, along with publications
like The Fader and
Derez De’Shon, our 2018 Social Star Award winner, scored his first Billboard Hot 100 chart entry in February 2018 with “Hardaway,” which was later remixed with guest verses by Yo Gotti and 2 Chainz. He is signed to Commission/BMG Music, and his most recent full-length project, Pain 3, was released on August 21.
BMI’s 2017 Social Star Award winner, Arkeisha “Kash Doll” Wright, launched her rap career in 2014 and released her first major viral hit, “Run Me My Money,” one year later. Her debut album, Stacked, was released in October 2019 and features collaborations with Summer Walker, Teyana Taylor, and Lil Wayne, among others. The album also contains the song, “Ice Me Out,” which is making the rounds on TikTok with its own dance challenge. Kash continues working on new music, and her latest single, a collab with Icewear Vezzo and Zaytoven called “Nervous,” hit streaming services in April.
Joey Bada$$ received the 2016 Social Star Award, and his career is still soaring. His album, All-Amerikkkan Bada$$, was released in 2017, and his LP, Escape from New York, dropped in 2020. He is the CEO of Pro Era Records and is an in-demand collaborator, having worked with Chloe x Halle, MAX, ScHoolboy Q, and J. Cole, among others. A three-track collection of Bada$$ tracks called The Light Pack debuted in July and features a collaboration with Pusha T.
SoMo’s devoted social media following helped him secure the Social Star Award in 2015. In the time since, he has embarked on headlining tours and released several full-length projects including The Answers, My Life III, and A Beautiful November. SoMo has put out a series of singles throughout 2020 including “Sinkin’ Down,” “Mi Amor,” “Dime,” “50 Feet,” and “Brian K. Lundy, Jr.” His most recent offering, “All That,” dropped in July.
Since winning the Social Star Award in 2014, Zendaya has remained a prominent talent in the entertainment industry. In addition to releasing her own music, she starred in two Spider-Man movies as well as The Greatest Showman, the latter of which featured her vocals on its hit soundtrack. She currently stars in the hit HBO series, Euphoria for which she is nominated for a 2020 Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Zendaya worked with Labrinth on “All for Us” for the Euphoria soundtrack and continues her work in fashion, activism, and the arts.
2013 Social Star winner, Machine Gun Kelly, has been known for his genre-breaking musical style since signing to Bad Boy and Interscope Records in 2011. His most recent album, Hotel Diablo, scored a top 5 debut on the Billboard 200, and he is gearing up to release a pop-punk project called Tickets to my Downfall later this year. The album will include tracks like “bloody valentine,” “concert for aliens,” and “my ex’s best friend” with blackbear, all of which are available to stream now.
Pittsburgh rapper, Mac Miller, got his start in music at the age of 15. Following a string of successful independent mixtapes, he released his first official (and first #1) album, Blue Side Park, in 2011. To date, Miller has placed 10 albums on the Billboard 200 and 21 songs on the Hot 100. His 2018 album, Swimming, debuted to critical acclaim, and his posthumous LP, Circles, was released earlier this year. Miller passed away in 2018, though his music will live on forever.
